Gianfranco Puopolo

Founding Partner – PG Legal

I advise mainly Italian and foreign builders of super yachts, suppliers of the yachting industry, brokers, management companies banks and financial institutions. I also represent many high net worth individuals in purchasing preowned yachts or for new builds with Italian yards

How did you end up in superyacht law?

I have started working in the super yacht law approximately 20 years ago when I represented an English racing sailing boat builder that came to Italy to build Luna Rossa for the American Cup. Since then I realized that there was a potential market that actually grew exponentially during the years until the 2007/8 peak. In these days, it seems that the market is picking up again

What makes a good superyacht lawyer?

In my view it is a deep knowledge of the law (and not only maritime law) and the knowledge of the market and of the industry players. Also, a deep understanding of the mechanics of the negotiations related to buying luxury items such as a super yacht is fundamental to excel in this area of law.

What do you most like about your job?

The opportunity of meeting and working with very interesting and clever business people, especially if one thinks that a buyer of a super yacht is in most cases someone who has done extremely well in his business career to be able to buy such an expensive toy.

What one piece of advice would you give to potential yacht buyers?

To approach the purchase of a super yacht in the same manner as they would treat any other transaction in the area of business in which they are involved. The fun around buying a yacht should be the main motivation but it is highly recommended to have a professional approached and be advised by capable and skilled professionals in order to prevent or minimize bad surprises.

Official biography

Gianfranco is a founding partner of PG Legal. He assists Italian and foreign companies in complex transactions where he represents institutional investors, sellers or buyers. In the yachting industry, Gianfranco represents mega yacht builders in the acquisition of Italian shipyards and advices yacht builders, general contractors or high net worth individuals in respect to the building, refitting or purchasing of super yachts. Gianfranco is fluent in English, French and Italian and he is one of the requested speakers at the variety of Yachting conferences, forum and round tables concerning the legal and tax issues where he shares his experience and his deep knowledge with the yachting industry operators. He appears as an expert in his field in major legal directories such as Chambers and Legal 500.